Puget Sound

12:41 pm

Wed October 12, 2011

More seal pups spotted ashore in Seattle

Harbor Seal pups, perhaps like this one born in June at the research institution in Seward, Alaska, are crowding the beaches in West Seattle.

Associated Press

A bumper crop of chubby, adorable harbor seal pups have been hauling out on rocks and beaches of West Seattle in high numbers in recent weeks.

The local group Seal Sitters have counted 37 pups in the southwest Seattle neighborhood so far this season, compared with 33 from August to December last year.

The latest was a white pup with brown speckles dubbed Sly. On Wednesday morning, the pup rested on seaweed-covered rocks, protected behind perimeter tape set up by volunteers.

State biologist Dyanna Lambourn says there's a healthy population of seals in Puget Sound. The high number of pups reported may also be because more people are looking for them. The pups are also drawn to pilings found in urban settings where they feed on bait fish.